Los Angeles Lakers coach Mike Brown rules out feud with Andrew Bynum – NBA Update
The Los Angeles Lakers have the look of a franchise waiting to implode. Although the Lakers are still well positioned to make the playoffs and have enough talent to give anyone a run for their money, there is a lot that has happened this NBA season that
they would have wanted to avoid.
Starting off with the appointment of Mike Brown to trade fiasco involving Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, the Lakers have been sailing in rocky waters. In contrast, their latest troubles are ones borne completely on the court, because of some rather surprising
decisions of coach Mike Brown.
In a recent match, Brown pulled in form centre Andrew Bynum to the bench for large periods, including the most of the final quarter, when his talents would have been pretty handy on the court.
Speculation is rife since then, with various reports suggesting that the relationship between the coach and the players has broken down. Some sources have gone as far as to say that there are a number of players in the dressing room that aren’t exactly pleased
with the way Brown runs things.
The coach however believes it has all been blown out of proportion. He had a decision to make and he made it. The team won and it was just another day, Bynum was just another player.
Brown further explained that his job was to coach Andrew, just as it was to coach the rest of the players. He thinks he’s doing fine in that department and he will continue in the same fashion.
"I just coached him," Brown said. "Whatever I need to talk to him about on the floor, I coached him. There's no problem between Andrew and I. I coached him just like I normally have. If I'm in charge of a play-set those guys are scripting and Andrew has
a question or I got to tell him, 'Hey, Andrew, do this or do that,' or if he says, 'Hey, Coach, what's this or what's that.' I just coach him."
The initial benching of Bynum was because he took an ill-advised 3-pointer, with plenty of time on the shot clock. It didn’t help that he missed, and Brown took him out of the game. Bynum was put back into the thick of things in the final quarter, but his
performance was visibly under par, prompting Brown to bench him again.
The player hasn’t helped matters by taking a somewhat defiant stance on the issue. He has conveyed in no uncertain terms that he will not refrain from taking shots from downtown in the future, a virtual challenge to the coach’s authority.
To further complete matters, super star guard Kobe Bryant has also apparently thrown his support behind his teammate, alienating his coach in the process.
Tags: